ILLARIONOV: CENTRAL BANK UNDERMINES CHANCE OF FINANCIAL STABILIZATION.

Despite government claims to the contrary, the policies ofthe Russian Central Bank have not contributed to financial stabilityso far, and are unlikely to do so in the future, the directorof the Institute of Economic Analysis told Russian radio July25. Andrei Illarionov said that the Central Bank had actuallyadopted a policy of artificial devaluation of the ruble and thushelped itself to acquire additional hard currency reserves. Moreover,the bank had based its projections on monthly inflation ratesof 1.5 percent, when in fact inflation in Russia is likely tostay at its current level of 6 percent before rising again towardthe end of the year.

Moscow’s Drive to Export Oil May Lead to Domestic Shortages.